This invention relates to a system for regulating the production and introduction of an air-water mixture in its vaporized state into the air-fuel mixture of an internal combustion engine.
There are many improvements and advantages which result upon addition of air-water vapor to the air-fuel mixture of an internal combustion engine such as: better emissions control, less carbon formation in the cylinder, less knocking and pinging because of better suppression of detonation, reduced internal engine temperatures, use of lower octane fuels and often an increase in horsepower. When properly regulated, the addition of an air-water mixture in its vapor form results in a cleaner and more efficiently operating engine.
The regulation of the addition of water vapor has been a problem in many prior art systems. Often too little or too much water vapor was added resulting in poor combustion or not giving the desired improvements. Several systems have used vacuum methods to regulate the rate of flow of water vapor into the air-fuel mixture. Many vacuum systems use ported vacuum in such a manner that they do not provide the maximum amount of water vapor at the time when it is most needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,092 discloses a system and method for metering an air-water mixture into an internal combustion engine in response to peak engine demand under certain operating circumstances. This patent primarily operates in response to ported vacuum. By ported vacuum is meant vacuum drawn from the carburetor above the throttle. However, in certain new automobiles, ported vacuum is very erratic or not available to be utilized at all. Thus, the ported vacuum system disclosed in this patent is not appropriate for usage in such newer automobiles.